OrchidSafari ARCHIVES*

Lois:
Webpages for Alan Koch, Gold Country Orchids

Andy:
Gold Country DOES have a home page. Allen's wife does it, and from what Allen said at the EOC, there is still some work to do on it. Don't ask me what the URL is though.

Richard:
Harold -- my L. anceps 'Veitchiana' is out-doing itself this time! Flowered about 3 months ago with 1 spike and two flowers. Now has 2 spikes and 4 flowers on each! Tomorrow it gets crossed with Ctna. Maui Maid.

Harold:
Richard, I am envious. They have to most beautiful blooms. Sharon, you staying warm and snuggie out there in east Texas?

Sharon:
Harold, we are staying warm with help... I had to put the heater in the porch greenhouse, and keep the fan on in the sunroom to keep the orchids to above 55.

Helen:
Hi Sharon glad you are still hanging in with us! My anceps gets bright light but will bloom one day!

Zimelza:
Just an amateur but love orchids. Just had two huge sprays on Oncidium Sharry Baby, what a lovely fragrance!

Andy I am so glad that cross took!

Lois:
zimelza - tell us some more about you.

Andy:
Welcome Zimelza! Sharry Baby is one of the best smellers! I have one with two spike in bloom now and just love to visit the greenhouse with them in bloom.

Vandas1:
Hello. My Name is Mike Simmons. This is my first time here. Just wanted to say HI!

Andy:
Sharon, we're keep'n things warm here too ..... Two furnaces going at once and cyclone fans to circulate the heat! Burr.... in the teens tonight!

Zimelza:
I'm on the central east coast of Fla. I guess some of you are from colder places.

Lois:
Welcome, Mike Simmons -- stick around...and if you'd like to get a synopsis of this evening either give me your email here or email me

Sharon:
Hi Mike, welcome. There are quite a few of us new folks here. GOOD GROUP!

Al:
Hey, you Florida folks, where is area code 561?? Can anybody help??

Greg:
Al, 561 is the new Palm Beach code to replace 407.

Harold:
Well Sharon, I popped a circuit breaker with my 2 1500w heaters and the fans came on. It was holding at about 55, but dropped to just under 50 B-4 I discovered the failure. I think I caught it in time tho. I now have the 2 circuits out there that I bought in the first place. MUMBLE...MUMBLE.

Lois:
How about all of us putting our hometown in our tagline so Mike can get a handle on us -- there's quite a few South Floridians here, Mike.

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Peter
Here is a preview to tonight's program. This is a picture of my enclosed patio taken during the spring time of this year. many blooming plants Disclaimer, these are not perfect photography. Most of these pictures were taken by my friend.

Greg:
Let's go Peter, enlighten us...How come my Phals don't have any spikes yet??

[Phals need a period of cooler temperature to initiate spikes. Typically two weeks of lower temperature than normal will help. For example, if your area normally has night temperature in the 70s, decrease heater setting so that the temperature is in the 60s. Typically, just let the nature take its course if you grow your phals outdoor. No need to use A/C to bring down the temperature just to get your phals to bloom early. If it's not the temperature, you may want to see if your phals are getting enough light to flower...PL]

Andy:
Beautiful Phals, Peter, what's the white one in the middle with red center??

[The photo is deceiving. It's actually a white flower with dense purple spots in the center. That's Phal. Christine Spots (Paifang's Queen X Pinlong Girl). A mericlone plant I purchased from Taiwan. You will find that Phal. Paifang's Queen is used many many times in Taiwanese phal breeding program. It is a big flower with good shape. Very useful to improve flower shape of those smaller yet colorful novelty phals...PL]

Peter:
There is much to talk about phals. Let's take a vote, should I discuss culture/growing or would you all prefer to discuss the different phal varieties?

Lois:
Peter - why not species/varieties tonight - culture next Wed? *grin*

Peter:
I like phals. They are easy to grow and to flower. I decided to collect phals because there are so many varieties to choose from. These are the categories that we will discuss tonight: White, Pink, Spots, Stripes, WCL, Yellow, Novelty, Species...

The fun begins when I started to collect orchid species. Many of you know that standard phals typically flower in the spring time. But if you add some species to your collection, you can have plants blooming year around.

We shall begin with species. One of my favorite is Phal. violacea. I love it for its fragrance, and its ability to flower continuously from the same spike. This violacea is the biggest that I have. Each leaf is about 12+ inches. Big plant. I can't take credit for growing it. But as you can see, previous owner knows how to care for his plant. It has 6 pairs of healthy leaves.

Barbara:
Peter how many species do you have now?

Peter
I have about 80-90 species so far. I keep several plants of my favorite species. According to books, there are about 50 different phal. species. I don't have them all yet.

Ed:
Hi, all.

Hallie
Peter, if there are particularly nice clones of anything, please mention them.

Peter:
As for Phal. violacea var Borneo (it is now called Phal. bellina according to Dr. Eric Christenson), I read that all the good clones originated from 'Country Acres.' The more well known clone 'Ponkan' is a selfing or sibling of 'Country Acres.'

Greg:
so where'd you get the other 30 or 40 species Peter...name a few yourself :-)

[Out of 50 different phal. species, I have most of them except a few that I can't locate the sources...PL]

Helen:
Peter what else blooms like violacea????

Peter:
It's a shame that not many hybridizers take advantage of Phal. violacea's fragrance. Phal. violacea flower successively and as a result not too many flowers stay on the spike at the same time. But with good culture, Phal. violacea can have many flowers with multiple spikes at once.

Phal. tetraspis blooms like Phal. violacea. Smallish white fragrant flowers. You can get these from a few places such as the Orchid Man in Schaghticoke, NY.

Greg:
Peter, doesn't violacea also have a tendency to push all the flowers to the end of the spike in its progeny??

[Phal. violacea tends to give its hybrid shorter spikes. As for pushing all the flowers to the end of the spike, I have not heard of it. Yet this is likely because blooms open successively. So the appearance is that you see a few flowers at the tip of a spike...PL]

Ed:
Peter, we did a remake of P. Kathleen Edris (Terri Cook X violacea) and got some nice full spikes of summer flowers. Just what we wanted. No smell.

[I am surprised that this cross has no fragrance. Perhaps you did not put you nose close to it when the temperature is warmer? Phals are not known to have very strong fragrance that you can sense a few feet away. Nonetheless, do you have some to share? (grin)...PL]

Barbara:
That's a nice pix, how large is the plant, Peter?

[Very large. 6 pairs of leaves. The 3 pairs in the front are 12+ inches long and 4-5+ across. violacea do get quite large. You don't see them get this large because they would be too expensive to have when they get to this size...PL]

Peter:
Another species that I highly recommend is Phal. schilleriana. Probably everyone is familiar with clone 'Pinkbutterfly'. You can get it just about everywhere for $35-$50. I have one of course. But I got jungle type that are very fragrant in the morning. Don't know why.

Here is a picture of phal. amboinensis.

Phal. amboinensis is a good species for breeding yellow/red. I find these blooming in the summer..or continuously through out the year. I have couple in bloom right now. If you're able to see the picture of my Phal. violacea, each leaf is about 12+ inches. It's a good size plant. I bought it from Meir Moses from Orchid Konnection. Got a blue ribbon for it at the plant table during society meeting.

Greg:
Peter, our P. schilleriana smells like rose petals until noon. [Yep. Mine too. When the temperature warms up, the fragrance faded...PL]

Peter:
Another common phals used heavily today for yellow/red breeding today is phal. venosa. Clone "Red Mahogany", it is quite popular. HP Norton used it to create Phal. Lemon Candy. Nice yellow/red candy stripes.

Barbara:
I thought the violacea when crossed the fragrance is not transferred.

Helen
Peter what others??? Is that a new species or is tetraspis been around.

Peter:
Personally I am not very fond of Phal. venosa's fragrance. A friend of mine commented that venosa smelled like pork. Yet venosa's hybrids, Phal. Taipei Gold (x Gladys Read) or Phal. Brother Lawrence (x Deventeriana) AQ/AOS both have beautiful fragrance..when the temperature is warmer...

Greg:
Peter, what's that species with the small white flowers and the lip with the orange side lobes....micrr..something?

Peter:
Greg...the smallish white flower with orange lip is Phal. gibbosa. This species is said to be rare and was discovered in Vietnam. Andy's Orchid in CA sells them. I bought one.

[On a second thought, Greg, you may be referring to Phal. micholitzii which has nice white flowers. I did not pay attention that these have orange lips...PL]

Peter:
Let me pause and answer a few questions from the floor. Phal. tetraspis is somewhat new. It is described in Dr. Sweet's book (1980) on phalaenopsis. Sweet shows tetraspis as a variety of P. speciosa. Phal. tetraspis is registered as Phal. speciosa.

Most of my Phal. violacea crosses are fragrant. My recent visit to Sky Island Orchids, I bought Phal. Equalacea (equestris x violacea). Cute little things with some fragrance. You have to put your nose close to it though.

One of my favorite Phal. violacea hybrid is Phal. Sweet Memory. Yes folks, this cross is fragrant. This is clone "Dorothy" I purchased from Dr. John Martin, Evergreen Hill Orchids, Duncanville TX...

Barbara:
Isn't the Phal. Nancy Gordon a cross of venosa? Mine is in spike now. Peter:
P. Nancy Gordon (x Deventeriana) is indeed a hybrid of Phal. venosa. Tip to everyone who loves more flowers. Keep your flower spikes. Don't cut them. This is especially true with crosses that use species. My Phal. Deventeriana 'Treva' (amabilis x amboinensis) just keeps on blooming and blooming.

[I bought my Nancy Gordon from Sky Island Orchids. Bill Mitchell has another Nancy Gordon that has several spikes with 30+ flowers. He is the one who told me not to cut the spikes...PL]

Ed:
Peter, do you have any secrets for growing venosa? Ours look nice but grow sooooooooo slowly.

Peter:
Ed.. no secret for growing venosa. I got a big healthy plant with 3 or 4 spikes from Dowery orchids. It has been blooming on and off all the time...Bottom leaves look pretty bad due to spider mites.

Ed:
Mebbe size is the answer, Peter. We have a gazoo of seedling venosas. Hope they'll gain speed as they gain size. They seem to like lots of light but not so much food.

Greg:
Doesn't the plant need a rest, Peter?

Peter:
Phals grow continuously. This is why most growers keep the minimum temperature to be 60-65F year round to encourage continuous growth. So if you have healthy and mature plants, it is going to grow/bloom always. Especially Phal. violacea, Phal. amboinensis, Phal. lueddemaniana, etc., if you leave the spikes, they will reward you with new spikes plus bloom from old spikes. Phal. lueddemaniana grows like a weed. It puts out keikis.

Barbara:
Peter that Sweet Memory is really nice, flower large?

Peter:
That Sweet Memory is very large, Barbara. I believe it's 3+ inches. The contrast of pink and yellow color really shows when it flowered again in my greenhouse. I believe brighter light somehow intensifies the color.

Harold:
I only cut spikes that change color. Anything green...stays. And either I get new blooms or I get keikis.

Peter:
It's up to you what you want from a phal. Do you use it for Judging or for hybridizing etc.? I used to think that phal. bloom from old spikes look ugly...but I was speechless when I saw that Phal. Nancy Gordon with 5 or 6 spikes covered with flowers at Sky Island Orchids. Bill needs flowers for hybridizing.. I guess if you are planning to take plants to judging and are concerned about presentation, well, cut the old spikes. This way you will have a fresh new spike with new flowers present nicely.

Sharon:
And if you break one off, you have a chance of a new inflorescence, like mine did. It's almost 4 inches long now.

Harold:
Let's hear it for more blooms. That is what an orchid is for.

Peter:
Time for another Spring 95 picture in my patio.
My hair doesn't usually look like this. I had a perm...(grin)

Barbara:
I had a Phal. Sierra Gold 'Yellow Canary' - it bloomed for two years, and bloomed itself to death.

[In my opinion, bloom booster (high phosphorus) fertilizer causes over-blooming in phals...mlg]

Peter:
Yes folks.. if you can afford it, buy big and healthy plants. I bought a Phal. Sweet Memory 'Bubbles" with 4 spikes and 22 flowers. Each leaf on the plant is 16 inches long.. Phal. violacea and its hybrids can get very very big.

That's very unfortunate, Barbara. Plants do not flower for our viewing pleasure. They do so because they need to carry on by producing offspring. It's true that a stress phal can put all of its energy to bloom...then die...hoping that it can make enough seeds to carry on.. It's kinda sad.

You may hear that orchids need stress to flower. For the spring bloomer, a period of lower temperature can encourage your phals to flower. But the key is to keep 10 degree difference of day/night temperature.

Ok..let's move on to next species... Phal. celebensis. This plant is unique. You may love it even when it is not in bloom. This phal has beautiful silver/green foliage. The shape of flowers is not typically of standard phals, but you do get a bunch of flowers... this is the fox-tail phal.

Gail:
Phals are spiking in Boca Raton!!!

Barbara
Peter that is a big GH, you didn't use Laxen.

Greg:
Peter, does that temp difference apply to the summer bloomers too ? No prob in SoFla in the winter but can't do ten degrees night/day in summer...it's one of the major cultural factors we face down here.

[That's a problem here in Texas also. In north texas, the humidity is lower. So perhaps we have better luck to lower the temperature with swamp cooler or wet wall/pad...PL]

Greg:
Gail, our schillerianas are pushing spikes...everything else seems a little lazy.

Peter:
Barbara.. my GH is 17 x 23. and yes, I use GE clear Laxen throughout the greenhouse. Greg, ideally, you should have temp difference...so that phals can rest. Ideal temperature is around 74-76 degree. A period of 80-85 degree is okay. But all day long can really stress your plants. It's not going to kill them though.

I like to show another one of my favorite phal. that I happen to have picture to share. This one is Phal, Brother Girl.

Sharon
The P. schilleriana unknownium I have is the one "fixin to get ready to" bloom.

Barbara:
Greg, that's the challenge that we have to overcome, for me is the Vandas.

Helen:
Peter that is a real neat phal where did you get the celebensis??? I like Phals that do not look like phals.

Peter:
Helen..I got that celebensis from Orchid World in FL. It died though..sob..I had it in sphagnum moss and my fault for overwatering. Tip - try to use one media in your growing condition. It's a challenge to remember different watering schedules for each growing media.

Greg:
I guess that's why fans were invented Peter.

Helen:
Oh, I like that one too. I had a Phal that had six spikes with five flowers on each one, it died when I repotted it, I was very sad, I liked it a lot..

Greg:
Hey, Barbara...it wouldn't be fun if it was easy ! Peter, is that a venosa hybrid from the Chinese Brothers?

[Correction: Taiwanese Brothers *grin*...PL]

Barbara:
Peter that's pretty, show pix here is faster. Do you have Phal. Strawberry Frost? That's nice too.

Greg:
There was a venosa hybrid a few years back that was all the rage that looked like Brother Girl, bloomed around Easter and the vendors at the spring shows couldn't keep them in stock at $50 a pop...can't remember the name though, something Spanish maybe?

[Please share the name with us if you can remember it...PL]

Peter:
Yes..that is Brother Girl clone 'Brother'.. I believe it has a AM/AOS now...not the clone that I have..sigh...

Barbara..no..I don't have Phal. Strawberry Frost..the name sounds delicious.

[Peter, any clone one owns with the same clonal name carries the same award as it's vegetative brothers/sisters...put that AM/AOS on your Phal. Brother Girl 'Brother'...sorry you didn't get the award...mlg]

Peter:
Here is another picture of a pink phal..yes.. I do like them pink too.. But it's hard to find a real good one..

Gail:
I hate to miss the show, but I need to crash, have a nice holiday and I'll see you on Saturday evening.

Peter:
Finally.. here is a picture of a so called red that I really like...Phal. Buddha Tribute. This is fragrant. Poor photography by yours truly..sorry.

Barbara:
I got a Phal when Sheldon T. from Carmela was here named Paul Tatar 'Hakalau', just opened...is very dark, maroon color and large flower too.

[I have this one too. It's very nice. Love it...PL]

Sharon:
Peter, Orchid World is where I got the phal flask I FINALLY unflasked on Sunday. Off topic, but how long before they would like fertilizer? Peter:
Sharon - I think watering is probably more important when you de-flask...keep your plants moist.. When you see new leaves coming...you can start your balanced fertilizer program.

Lois:
Nice red, too. Don't apologize, Peter - I've seen a few award slides that don't look any better.

Peter:
I'm starting to mount my phal. species..here is a picture...

Peter:
Hi Evlyn.. glad you can join us.. Sorry the weather was so bad that I couldn't see your GH.

Sharon:
Thanks Peter. They have a cover and I use a tiny water can to go around the plants to water.

Peter:
oh..Sharon - just in case...I meant don't OVER water your new babies... just keep them moist but not damp.

Ok folks.. open for questions now. There are many more species. I have them, but don't have my own pictures to show yet.. Plus, I am learning how to grow them also. Most of the harder to acquire species I just got recently.

Lois:
Peter, re mounting species - Al Bicknell sent a photo of how he hangs a pot OVER the treefern plaque and lets water dribble down longer.

Sharon:
I have only watered once. This a.m. as a fact. Keeping a good "finger check" on them. Thanks.

[Not so strangely, all questions turned out to be cultural questions! *smile*...mlg]

Evlyn:
I would like some info on light requirements.

Zimelza
What is the preferred growing medium for phals? Can they be grown in lava rock?

Peter:
Here is Phal. schilleriana 'Pink Butterfly', HCC/AOS

Peter:
Evlyn - phal prefer shaded light in most cases. Some species such as Phal. gigantea, violacea can tolerate more light. But all elements work together..it's not just light. If you give phal. more light, then it means you need to increase air circulation..and water. Books says between 800-1000 ft. candles?? I say that--keep your phals in shadier condition and gradually move to brighter light.. Watch the leaf color.. light green but not too yellow.

Zimelza, you sure can grow phals. in lava rock. I don't want to start a debate.. but I prefer Pro-Mix..it's good for us here in Dallas, Texas.

Evlyn:
what about darker green leaves?

Greg:
Peter, up until last year we were growing ALL our phals in baskets with sphagnum, hanging just like your plaques, under fiberglass and with a drip system to keep the leaves dry, however, we couldn't really display them well and certainly couldn't bring them in for judging so now we're back to pots.

John:
I have seen some of the best Phals grown in pea gravel hydroponically. That was 30 years ago though but the plants were great!

Greg:
I can tell you as a photog that 100 foot candles is not very much light....1000 to 1500 sounds more reasonable to me.

Peter:
Greg - I was partially inspired by your photo of Phal. schilleriana...how it was hanging down with a spray of flowers. I had one with over 35 flowers in tall spikes and because I forced/trained it with the help of a stake, it didn't look very natural. When I was 10, my uncle gave me a big Phal. amabilis on a tree fern. It has 7 pairs of big healthy round leaves. Very old plant. I miss it so much...it faithfully bloomed every year with tw spikes.. Poor thing didn't do too well under my care..I was rather ignorant about orchids at the time.

Greg:
Thanks for the compliment Peter...that is how they grow in nature...just not good for display unless you create a "trophy wall"

Lois:
A Phal. amabilis with several pendent spikes (growing on treefern plaque) was awarded in Alexandria about a year ago. Lovely thing.

Barbara:
Peter, do you have a Hilo Lip? Years ago I paid a fortune for it, when bloomed it didn't have a white lip, that's when I lost my interest in Phals. Now I'm back with renewed interest for the dark maroon color ones.

[Good clone of Hilo Lip can be had for reasonable prices now. At the IPA symposium in Chicago this year, Norman Orchids was selling Hilo Lip 'Catnip' for $60 versus $100 from Carmela Orchids. I did not get one yet. I have two compots of Hilo Lip. Maybe I will get lucky...PL]

Evlyn - darker green leaves are fine..but there is a concern that phals may not get enough light/energy to flower. A grower told me that he gave his Phal. gigantea lots of light. The result is tough smaller round yellowish leaves. But I believe the leaves therefore resist diseases...insects...better. On the other hand, I do not like big long leaves from a Phal. gigantea.

Barbara:
Peter did you see the ad in AOS, the Phal. farm in Gilroy that imports from Taiwan, Gilroy is about 70 miles from here, we might stop by next week when we go down to Carmel.

[Could you tell me the name of this orchid nursery? I don't recall seeing this ad. Thanks...PL]

Sharon:
Peter, I have seen phals planted/potted on a slant. Does it make a difference?

Evlyn:
What about north--south orientation in the greenhouse? i.e., my GH is oriented so that north would be comparable to right top corner of computer screen. I was told that all my phals should be on the shelves on the northwest side . If the were on the other sides the stems would be distorted, Since I am just starting with phals I would like to know about this.

Peter:
Greg.. I much rather keep my phals. alive/bloom well in my greenhouse. Friends are welcome to visit my phals.. But you're right..I don't mount every plant...just some species like Phal. violacea with short inflorescences.. gigantea that are sensitive to crown rot...

Evlyn - That's an interesting point. I don't know to be quiet honest. My choices of GH location is rather limited. I keep my phals in the same location so that the stem can grow toward a direction..whatever that is...Sorry Sharon.. I don't know...haven't seen one on a slant...

Evlyn
Will that get them all facing the same direction?

Lois:
Before I closed the attached greenhouse, phals had the north wall - and I painted that fibreglass wall behind them with white paint the day after I put them on the wall cause you could see the spikes turning toward the nearest source of light...even though that light came from the north. The shelves on a slight slant (about 30 degrees). The beauty of the slanted shelf is that when you take the plant and sit it flat, the spray has a higher, natural arch. Had the best oriented, arching displays of phal inflorescences!

Peter:
Evlyn - Yes..most of the stems will face one direction.. My GH is partially covered with a big willow tree, and since I use step benches..the ones in the back can have spikes pointing to the side of the GH instead...but in general..they should all face the strongest light source coming from one direction.

[The best oriented phals I've seen anywhere were all grown against a solid wall...mlg]

Andy:
Time for me to turn in folks. Peter, That was a fantastic discussion. Something for everyone....

zimelza:
peterlin-thank you so much for wonderful pics and information. I will put it all to good use (took notes in case of quiz later!).

Helen:
nite all I am to tired to read, GREAT job Peter. Thanks so much -- the photos were good too.

marylois: Yes, a beautiful job done by Peter Lin! And here's hoping your Thanksgiving was warm and wonderful.

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